Department for Transport

Channel Ferries

lord berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whetherwritten ministerial direction for expenditure on the contingency planning for a no deal Brexit was requested, in particular for (1) contracting with shipping lines and port operators to operate additional services, (2) developing the port of Ramsgate, (3) the provision of ferries, and (4) any necessary dredging works.

baroness sugg: No such direction has been required for any of these purposes.

Ramsgate Port: Dredging

lord berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government which company received the award to dredge the port of Ramsgate; what is the value and completion date of that contract; where the resulting spoilwill be dumped; and what are the dates on which the necessary dredging and dumping licences for this work were issued.

baroness sugg: The Government is not a party to this contract and so this information is not held centrally. Works in ports and harbours are matters for the relevant authority and must comply with the relevant regulatory regimes.

Ramsgate Port: Channel Ferries

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to invest in improvements to the port of Ramsgate to facilitate the proposed post-Brexit ferry service between Ramsgateand Ostend; and if so, how much this will cost.

baroness sugg: Infrastructure work is necessary to enable the port to resume Ro-Ro services. Thanet Council is in discussion with both the Department and Seaborne Freight to finalise the funding arrangements for the infrastructure works at the port, and vital dredging work has already started.

Ramsgate Port: Dredging

lord campbell-savours: To ask Her Majesty's Government what level of subsidythey are providing, or planto provide, towards the cost of dredging work in the harbour area of Ramsgate.

baroness sugg: Infrastructure work is necessary to enable the port to resume Ro-Ro services. Thanet Council is in discussion with both the Department and Seaborne Freight to finalise the funding arrangements for the infrastructure works at the port, and vital dredging work has already started.

Northern: Rolling Stock

lord greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the franchise requirement for ending the use of Pacer trains (classes 142 and 144) on the Northern franchise; and what is the expected date when this will be achieved.

baroness sugg: The franchise requirement is that Northern will oversee the complete removal of the Pacer train fleets by the end of 2019. Northern are on course to achieve this.

East Midlands Rail Franchise: Rolling Stock

lord bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they anticipate that additional rolling stock will be available by the time the new East Midlands rail franchise is let in August.

baroness sugg: The East Midlands Franchise Competition is still a live competition and the bids are currently being evaluated. The rolling stock requirements for the future franchise were set out in the Invitation to Tender, bidders will have developed proposals to meet or exceed those requirements.

Northern Ireland Office

Voting Rights: Foreign Nationals

lord morris of aberavon: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether Irish citizens’ will retain their right to vote in certain UK elections after the UK leaves the EU.

lord duncan of springbank: The rights of Irish citizens to vote in UK elections will remain unaffected after the UK leaves the European Union. The long standing eligibility of Irish citizens who are resident in the UK to register for and vote in elections in the UK is a result of the historical and close political ties between the two countries and is currently enshrined in the Representation of the People Act 1983. The reciprocal arrangement on voting rights between the United Kingdom and Ireland is entirely separate to membership of the European Union.

Department of Health and Social Care

Hospitals: Nurses

lord clark of windermere: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there is a legal limit on the ratio of nurses to patients on wards in NHS hospitals in England; and if so, what are those limits.

baroness manzoor: The National Health Service does not have a legal ratio of nurses to patients.Appropriate staffing levels are the responsibility of commissioners and trusts. The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 include a requirement for the deployment of sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced persons at all times.

Allergies: Medical Treatments

baroness finlay of llandaff: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many adrenaline auto-injectors they estimate will be needed over the next 12 months to ensure that no patient dies as a result of lacking such a device.

baroness manzoor: Based on available data sources (IMS, company supplied figures and NHS Prescription Cost Analysis Data), we estimate that approximately 900,000 adrenaline auto-injectors were issued throughout 2017 across the United Kingdom. Analysis of year on year data suggests an upward trend in the number of devices supplied, so the required volume is likely to exceed 900,000 in 2019.

Neurology

baroness gale: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve services for people with neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s.

baroness manzoor: NHS England established the National Neurology Advisory Group (NNAG) with the Neurological Alliance which led the development of a national collaborative clinical leadership model, bringing together key stakeholders such as Parkinson’s UK, a range of national clinical leaders and patient groups with the aim to seek alignment between programmes in NHS England, arm’s length bodies and system partners and to guide the strategic development of work to improve outcomes for people living with neurological conditions including Parkinson’s.Throughout 2018, the NNAG has organised a number of condition specific meetings with the aim of defining what good neurology looks like for patients with neurological conditions including Parkinson’s, and identifying the barriers to achieving that.NHS England also supports local transformation through their national programmes, as highlighted in the NHS Long Term Plan. NHS RightCare has published a number of intelligence tools and resources to support reduction in unwarranted variation in neurology services. For 2018/19, 37 of 195 clinical commissioning groups submitted delivery plans that include neurological problems as improvement projects as part of their NHS RightCare programmes. Of these 37, six systems have explicitly referenced Parkinson’s in their delivery plans. Interventions in these plans primarily focus on ensuring that patients are linked into end of life care recording and reviewing effective primary prescribing of Parkinson’s disease drugs.NHS England Specialised Commissioning has also recently approved a national review of specialised adult neuroscience services, working alongside and closely with the Getting It Right First Time programme.

Health Services: Foreign Nationals

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many written submissions they have received as part ofthe review of the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) (Amendment) Regulations 2017; how many case studies were submitted to the review where urgent care was withheld; andwhat assessment they have made ofthe number of case studies submitted where urgent care was, or may have, been incorrectly withheld.

baroness manzoor: The Department engaged with 79 organisations as part of the process of reviewing of the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 and received 57 formal responses. Of these, 22 case studies included instances where individuals were required to make advance payment for treatment that the Department has concluded was arguably, on proper analysis, immediately necessary and/or urgent.The common issue in these cases is that clinicians have not fully taken into account the date at which those seeking treatment have been expected to leave the United Kingdom, something that national guidance is clear must be taken into consideration when making a decision as to whether or not treatment is considered urgent. To mitigate this risk and help ensure the regulations are applied as intended the Department has updated its guidance, published on 24 December 2018, and is planning further updates to relevant training material and case studies in early 2019 to ensure all relevant circumstances are considered when deciding if a treatment is to be considered immediately necessary, urgent or non-urgent.

Apprentices: Nurses

baroness redfern: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase the number of apprentices training to become registered graduate nurses.

baroness manzoor: The Department is fully committed to increasing the number of nursing apprenticeships. In support of this, we have developed a complete apprentice pathway from entry level nursing associate to postgraduate advanced clinical practice in nursing. This will support people from all backgrounds to enter a nursing career in the National Health Service.In the 2017/18 academic year, there have been 300 apprenticeship starts recorded for the standard ‘registered nurse’ and 1,420 apprenticeship starts recorded for the standard ‘nursing associate’.We are working closely with employers and Health Education England to make sure that the NHS is fully supported to recruit apprentices, both in nursing and in a range of other occupations and in doing so ensure the NHS has a workforce that is reflective of the population it serves.

Nurses: Labour Turnover

baroness redfern: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the retention rate for new NHS nurses has increased in the last two years.

baroness manzoor: Data relating to the retention of newly qualified nurses is not held centrally.

NHS: Negligence

lord storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Manzoor on 7 January (HL12528), how they format clinical negligence claims.

baroness manzoor: NHS Resolution handles clinical negligence claims on behalf of National Health Service organisations and independent sector providers of NHS care in England.NHS Resolution formats its clinical negligence claims using a coding system.NHS Resolution has advised that it codes claims under its management to identify whether formal court proceedings have commenced. However, the reasons for this can be multiple and complex, i.e. a dispute on breach of duty, causation, the amount due to be paid in compensation, the imminent expiry of the limitation period, a combination of all four, or alternatively, the need for court approval of a settlement. Given this, and the fact that the claimant’s reasons for commencing court proceedings may not be shared with NHS Resolution, the reasons for commencement are not coded separately.

Cervical Cancer: Screening

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the uptake in cervical smear tests; how they will encourage women to take such tests; and how they will increase the availability of such tests.

baroness manzoor: NHS England has reviewed the data from 2013 showing the gradual national and international decline in the five-year coverage. Assessments for the decline were done in partnership with key stakeholders Public Health England (PHE) and Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust.Following Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust report published in January 2018, NHS England and PHE have modified the commissioning levers and communication processes, for example through supporting Jo’s Trust in the Time to Screen campaign and the launch of its first national multimedia cervical screening campaign ‘Be Clear on Cancer’ in March 2019 promoting uptake of cervical screening.NHS England has supported the Cancer Alliances who bring together local senior clinical and managerial leaders representing the whole cancer patient pathway across a specific geography, and have a general role in improving early diagnosis. In turn they have developed specific plans to improve uptake rates in screening programmes as part of that agenda with cervical screening considered a priority area.Cancer Research UK and Macmillan general practitioners (GPs) are also being utilised to provide awareness and training, with work and focus groups to target reducing inequalities among women over 50 and women from Eastern European countries a specific focus in one region.Training of GP receptionists is underway to improve ease of access to a screening appointment, while a toolkit has been developed to reduce the inequality in uptake among women with a learning disability. In addition, NHS England recently announced that Professor Sir Mike Richards has been asked to lead a review of cancer screening programmes which will consider ways to increase uptake of cervical screening and the NHS Long Term Plan confirms that using human papillomavirus testing as the primary screen for cervical cancer will be implemented across England by 2020.

Prescription Drugs

lord warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in relation to the proposed changes to the Human Medicines Regulation 2012, as outlined in the document Further guidance note on the regulation of medicines, medical devices and clinical trials if there’s no Brexit deal, published on 4 January, what assessment they have made of whether allowing pharmacists to lead on medicines substitution and override physicians would (1) reduce the transparency of communication across the health system about medicines supplied, (2) confuse patients and physicians, and (3) affect the quality of care delivered by the NHS; andwhether those proposed changes are consistent with the outcome of the public consultation on automatic generic substitution in 2010.

baroness manzoor: Community pharmacists have an important role in ensuring that patient get the medicines they need. If a serious shortage protocol is in place they can dispense an alternative but only as prescribed in the protocol.A protocol would increase the transparency of communication across the health system and reduce confusion amongst patients and prescribers as the protocol will give prescribers clarity about what will happen in the event a prescription only medicine is unavailable.A protocol would support the quality of care delivered by the National Health Service. In particular, in a situation with multiple large shortages, serious shortages protocols can have an important role in reducing delays in getting patients their medicines and freeing up general practitioners’ time.The serious shortage protocol provisions would enable retail pharmacies to provide a generic medicine when the brand has been prescribed but only if there is a serious shortage of that particular branded medicine and only if the protocol, developed with and signed off by clinicians, allows for the substitution. This is not automatic generic substitution of branded medicines by retail pharmacies which is currently not allowed and the Department has no plans to change this.

Human Medicines Regulations 2012

lord warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government why the proposed changes to the Human Medicines Regulation 2012, as outlined in the document Further guidance note on the regulation of medicines, medical devices and clinical trials if there’s no Brexit deal, published on 4 January,will not be subject to the affirmative instrument procedure.

baroness manzoor: The proposed changes to the Human Medicines Regulation 2012 will be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure in accordance with paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 7 to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 for it to be exercisable in the United Kingdom. The Statutory Instrument will be laid before Parliament very soon.

Tattooing

lord palmer: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many tattoos have been removedat a cost to the NHS in England; and what is the total cost of such removals since 2009.

baroness manzoor: It is possible that tattoo removal procedures could be classified to a number of ‘skin excision’ codes within the OPCS-4 Classification. These procedures codes would be assigned for any type of skin excisions, for example, the removal of benign and malignant neoplasm. It is not possible to separately identify data specific to tattoo removal procedures.

Neural Tube Defects

baroness corston: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many babies have been born in England with neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, in the last five years for which figures are available.

baroness manzoor: Public Health England contributes to the European Surveillance of Congenital Anomalies (EUROCAT), which reports on congenital anomaly statistics by country.The numbers of babies born with neural tube defects from 2012 to 2016 are displayed in the attached table, due to the size of the data. Data for 2017 and 2018 are not currently available. Validated data for 2017 will be available from April 2019.



HL12742 table formatted
(Word Document, 18.94 KB)

University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust: Liothyronine

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they plan to take to lift the ban on the prescription of liothyronine (T3) by University Hospital Bristol in contradiction of the advice given by NHS England.

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they plan totake to change the approach to the prescription of liothyronine (T3) being taken by Musgrove Hospital, Taunton which is in contradiction of the advice given by NHS England.

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with NHS England about the ability for doctors to follow the advice given on the prescription of liothyronine (T3) when bans on its prescription have been put in place at a local level.

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the barriers in place to the prescription of liothyronine (T3) in England, if any; and what steps they plan to take to overcome any such barriers.

baroness manzoor: NHS England is working closely with clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) on the prescribing of liothyronine to support them with the implementation of guidance for CCGs on items which should not be routinely prescribed in primary care. The Department has not had specific discussions with NHS England or made an assessment on these issues.CCGs are expected to have regard to national guidance, and are responsible for developing their own local approaches to its implementation taking into account local priorities and needs. CCGs set the policy which governs what hospitals and trusts implement, therefore the prescription of liothyronine at University Hospital Bristol and Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton is a matter for those CCGs.This guidance for CCGs on items which should not be routinely prescribed in primary care includes recommendations on the use of liothyronine in line with the British Thyroid Association, who advise that a small proportion of patients treated with levothyroxine continue to suffer with symptoms despite adequate biochemical correction. In these circumstances,where levothyroxine has failed and in line with this guidance, endocrinologists providing NHS services may recommend liothyronine for individual patients after a carefully audited trial of at least three months duration of the drug.Further guidance on the prescribing of liothyronine has been published by the Regional Medicines Optimisation Committee. The aim of the guidance is to make best practice on the prescribing of liothyronine clearer. A copy of Guidance – Prescribing of Liothyronine is attached.



RMOC liothyronine guidance
(PDF Document, 485.58 KB)

Prescriptions: Universal Credit

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord O'Shaughnessy on 20 December 2018 (HL12362), how they plan to ensure that Universal Credit claimants who meet the criteria for free prescriptions know that they should tick box ‘K’ for income-based jobseekers allowance.

baroness manzoor: A wide range of activity has been undertaken to publicise the workaround that eligible Universal Credit (UC) claimants should tick box ‘K’ for income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance until the FP10 prescription form is updated to include a new UC tick box. Information about this workaround has been made available on relevant websites including those for the NHS Business Services Authority, Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and the National Health Service website. This information has been shared with relevant professionals including Department for Work and Pensions work coaches and case managers, Citizens Advice advisers and pharmacists to enable them to support UC claimants with correctly completing the declaration on the back of the FP10 prescription form. Arrangements have also been made to ensure that if UC claimants accidentally tick the wrong box on the FP10 prescription form but can prove their eligibility for free NHS prescriptions, the NHS Business Services Authority is able to waive associated penalty charges upon being contacted.

Ministry of Justice

Magistrates: Vacancies

lord beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what stepsthey will take to address the shortage of presiding justices identified by the Magistrates Association.

lord keen of elie: Resource needs across the magistracy are considered annually and reviewed where necessary throughout the year. HMCTS is also working closely with the Judiciary to develop a protocol that will provide a forecast of the number of magistrates required up to five years ahead. It is anticipated that this protocol will be agreed and implemented by June 2019.We will continue to monitor and review the number of Presiding Justices and address any recruitment need that arises.

Department for Work and Pensions

Poverty

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Buscombe on 19 December (HL12320), what assessment have they made of the main conclusions of thereport by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation UK Poverty 2018, published on 4 December 2018, that (1) child poverty has been rising since 2011–12, (2) 4.1 million children are living in poverty, a rise of 500,000 in the last five years, (3) four million workers are living in poverty, a rise of more than half a million over five years, and (4) that in-work poverty has been rising faster than employment.

baroness buscombe: (1) & (2) We disagree with the reports emphasis and analysis being solely based on a relative poverty measure. There are 300,000 fewer children (both before and after housing costs) living in absolute poverty since 2010.(3) & (4) The risk of being in absolute poverty (before housing costs), if you are in work, has remained broadly stable over time. Also, there is an 8 per cent chance of working-age adults being in absolute poverty (before housing costs), which is the lowest since 2005. For children in couple families, there is only a 2 per cent chance of being in absolute poverty (before housing costs) if both parents work full-time. Also, the majority of those in-work poverty are those with part-time work only, single earner couples, or those in full-time self-employment. Finally, Universal Credit helps by incentivising the entry into work, offering smooth incentives to increase hours, and setting a general expectation that lone parents and partners should work (if not caring for young children or a disabled person) and offers generous childcare subsidies.

Social Security Benefits: Domestic Violence

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Buscombe on 14 January (HL12638) and the Minister of State for Employment on 10 February 2015 (HC223651), why they no longer record information on domestic violence easements centrally.

baroness buscombe: DWP is committed to providing the best possible support for all our claimants, including the most vulnerable in society. This includes those who are, or have been, victims of domestic abuse. We provide a tailored service that recognises those with complex needs at any point through-out their journey and ensures appropriate support is quickly made available: a fundamental principle in the operational delivery of UC. We are working closely with Refuge and Women’s Aid to improve the training provided to our staff, which means that Departmental training and awareness is now better than it ever has been, allowing Jobcentre staff to proactively identify, support and signpost victims of abuse.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Food: Imports

baroness jones of whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the availability of fresh, frozen, and chilled food warehousing space should imported food be delayed as a consequence of a no-deal Brexit.

lord gardiner of kimble: The UK has a high degree of food security built upon a diverse range of sources, and this will continue to be the case whether we leave the EU with or without a deal. The Government has well established ways of working with the food industry to mitigate disruption across the supply chain, and we are using these to support preparations for leaving the EU. Consumers will continue to have access to a range of different products.

Food: Imports

baroness jones of whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty's Government by what date any necessary new IT import notification system for food imports when the UK leaves the EU will be fully operational.

lord gardiner of kimble: A new system for imports notification is in the final stages of development and is being tested over the next few weeks. We are working to deliver this system for the end of March and, subject to successful testing, it will be made available initially to long-distance importers from early February.

Plastics: Waste Disposal

lord trefgarne: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proposals they have for the disposal of agricultural plastic waste, following restrictions on the import of plastic waste put in place by China.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Government published an ambitious new Resources and Waste strategy in December last year, which sets out our plans to reduce plastic pollution and our commitment to eliminate avoidable plastic waste. This includes avoidable plastic waste from agriculture. While this material is recyclable, it can often be contaminated, making the recycling process uneconomic. Our proposals in the strategy will incentivise the production and use of plastic packaging which is readily recyclable, and we are providing funding for innovation in plastic waste treatment. We are also exploring how Government policy can further address this issue in partnership with the Waste and Resources Action Programme.

Home Office

British Nationals Abroad: Repatriation

baroness afshar: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the costs in each of the last three years of repatriating to the UK British nationals who are convicted of criminal offences overseas; and whether they intend to pay the same costs for British nationals forced into marriage overseas; and if not, why not.

baroness williams of trafford: Costs associated with the deportation/return of British citizens to the UK at the end of a criminal sentence abroad are borne by the country seeking to deport/return them.Victims of forced marriage who are helped to return to the UK by the Forced Marriage Unit will no longer be asked to take out a loan for their repatriation costs. From now on, no one who is assisted by the Forced Marriage Unit - and would previously have been offered a loan - will have to cover the costs of their repatriation. Where possible, the Government will continue to seek to ensure the costs fall on the perpetrators by means of Forced Marriage Protection Orders (FMPOs). The Government has also agreed to ensure that those victims who have outstanding loans will have no further costs fall to them.

Lord Janner of Braunstone

lord campbell-savours: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse about the disclosure of material held in social services and criminal records relating to the case of Greville Janner.

baroness williams of trafford: It is a matter for the inquiry which is independent, to disclose where appropriate and in line with security and data protection protocols, any documents which are considered relevant as part of the inquiry.

Rifles: Theft

lord lucas: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the letter from Mr Steve Rodhouse, Director General (Operations) of the National Crime Agency, to the Home Secretary concerning the Offensive Weapons Bill,dated 11 October 2018, of the 17 rifles that the letter describes as having been stolen, how many were (1) full-bore target rifles,(2) hunting rifles,(3) .22 or other small calibre rifles; and how many of them were stolen from premises with security enhanced to level 3 of the Home Office Firearms Security Handbook; and whether the proportions of each of those categories of rifle compare to data from previous years.

baroness williams of trafford: The Home Office does not routinely collect statistics on lost or stolen firearms. However, the National Firearms Threat Centre have provided the following information in relation to rifles reported stolen between 17 July 2018 and 10 October 2018.Police records now show 20 rifles reported stolen during this period. Seven rifles were full-bore, six of which were most likely used for quarry shooting. The remaining rifles were .22 or other small calibres. All of the rifles could be used for target shooting.Similar breakdowns are not readily available for previous years but the police advise there were 77 rifles reported stolen during the whole of 2018, compared to 71 during 2017. Information on the security arrangements of firearm owners is not held centrally.

British Nationality

lord empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government on how many occasions in the last 12 months they have advised individuals to renounce their British citizenship; and for what purposes.

baroness williams of trafford: Information on renouncing British citizenship is available on the Gov.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/renounce-british-nationality. It is a matter of individual choice if a person wishes to renounce British citizenship and rely on any other nationality they hold.

Rifles: Crime

lord lucas: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relative danger, when used by criminals, of lever release rifles, MARS rifles, and standard hunting rifles; and what evidence such assessment is based on.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government has included provisions in the Offensive Weapons Bill to prohibit rapid firing rifles which use the MARS and lever release mechanisms. The proposed prohibition is based on concerns from the police about the potential for serious misuse and loss of life if these weapons were to fall into the hands of criminals or terrorists, since they can discharge rounds at a much faster rate than conventional rifles and are significantly more dangerous.That is not to say there is an imminent threat that these weapons are about to be used by criminals or terrorists but, in view of the threat assessment received, the Government has a clear duty to take preventative action to protect the public by making these weapons subject to more stringent controls.

Cabinet Office

Government Departments: Contracts

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria will be applied in relation to prompt payments in order to establish a company’s eligibility to be awarded Government contracts, once the prompt payment initiative comes into force.

lord young of cookham: Guidance in Procurement Policy Note 04/18, published in November 2018 sets out how payment approaches can be taken into account in the procurement of central Government contracts (subject to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015) in excess of £5m per annum.This policy note can be viewed at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-0418-taking-account-of-a-suppliers-approach-to-payment-in-the-procurement-of-major-contracts.

Government Departments: Contracts

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the number of Government suppliers that will be prevented from winning future contracts once the prompt payment initiative comes into force.

lord young of cookham: The decision to exclude a supplier from the procurement will be for the individual Contracting Authority to decide on a case by case basis depending on how a supplier responds to a range of questions relating to their payment practices and performance. Guidance for departments is set out in Procurement Policy Note 04/18.This policy note can be viewed at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-0418-taking-account-of-a-suppliers-approach-to-payment-in-the-procurement-of-major-contracts.

Public Procurement Review Service

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what evaluation they have undertaken of the Public Procurement Review Service; what the value of unpaid invoices reported to the Service was in 2018; and what proportion of those have now been resolved.

lord young of cookham: In 2018 overdue payment cases reported to the service totalled £2,333,042.69. The total amount that have been resolved to date is £1,779,237.73. A total of £303,001.18 have subsequently been rejected or collapsed due the cases not being within the scope and remit of the service. Of the cases reported in 2018 a total value of £250,803.78 is outstanding.

Public Procurement Review Service

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what evaluation they have made of the role of the Public Procurement Review Service in speeding up payments to suppliers.

lord young of cookham: Since the start of the Public Procurement Review Service (previously known as the Mystery Shopper Service), 226 late payment cases have been handled by the team. To date, in excess of £5.7m worth of late invoices have been unblocked by the serviceThe amount owed to smaller businesses in late payments has more than halved in the past five years, but we want to go further.

Government Departments: Small Businesses

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards their target of spending one pound in every three with small and medium-sized enterprises by 2022; and what further action they intend to take to meet their target.

lord young of cookham: In April 2018, the Minister for Implementation announced a package of new measures designed to level the playing field for smaller businesses bidding to win government contracts, including improving transparency to encourage large businesses to employ more SMEs in the supply chain, using Contracts Finder to advertise subcontracting opportunities and excluding suppliers from Government procurements if they cannot demonstrate adherence with prompt payment policy. The Government remains committed to its target of spending one pound in three with SMEs by 2022. Spend with SMEs for the 2017/18 financial year will be published in the near future.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Brexit: Government Bills

lord bassam of brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of outstanding pieces of primary legislaation which will be required to give effect to Brexit before 29 March 2019.

lord bassam of brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government which Government bills will be required to give effect to Brexit before 29 March 2019.

lord callanan: The Government has undertaken extensive work to identify the primary legislation essential to deliver our exit from the EU in different scenarios. Five exit-related bills have been passed, six more are making their way through Parliament and we will need to pass the EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill to give effect to the Withdrawal Agreement in UK law.We will introduce further exit legislation as necessary, both before and after exit day, to ensure that we have the right legal frameworks to implement our withdrawal from the European Union.

Brexit: Statutory Instruments

lord bassam of brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government which statutory instruments will require parliamentary approval before 29 March 2019 in order to give effect to Brexit.

lord callanan: We currently anticipate the number of statutory instruments required before exit day to be below 600, and more than half of the SIs required have been laid. As of 21 January 2019, 331 EU Exit SIs have been laid.

Brexit: Statutory Instruments

lord warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many statutory instruments relating to the possibility of a no-deal withdrawal from the EU on 29 March are now awaiting consideration by the House of Lords; and how many of those are subject to the affirmative procedure.

lord callanan: As of 21 January the Government has laid 331 EU Exit statutory instruments. The number awaiting consideration changes daily, but all the laid SIs to be considered and their procedure are available in the House of Lords Business and on legislation.gov.uk.All the instruments help provide certainty for businesses and the public by ensuring a functioning statute book when the UK leaves the EU. The majority are needed in either a deal or no deal scenario as they will be deferred to the end of an implementation period if no longer needed on 29 March.

Treasury

Public Expenditure: Northern Ireland

lord empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money was allocated to Northern Ireland as a result of Barnett consequentials in each of the last three financial years.

lord empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money has been allocated to Northern Ireland in the current financial year as a result of Barnett consequentials.

lord bates: The Barnett Formula was applied at the 2015 Spending Review to changes to each UK government department’s overall Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) budget. The 2015 Spending Review set the baseline block grant allocation for Northern Ireland in 2015/16 at £10.7bn. This is set out in 2015 Spending Review documents published on the gov.uk website In addition to that, HM Treasury’s Block Grant Transparency publication sets out the breakdown of changes in the Northern Ireland block grant since the 2015 Spending Review, including all further Barnett consequentials as follows. £ million2016-172017-182018-19Total Barnett Consequentials9.7251.2435.1** Any adjustments for 2018-19 will be presented to Parliament through the Supplementary Estimates ProcessThe Block Grant Transparency publication can be found on the gov.uk website

Customs

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the possible effects that new customs checks could have on operations at UK ports in the event of a no deal Brexit.

lord bates: The government continues to engage with ports and the businesses who use them, to discuss the requirements which will apply in a no deal scenario and ensure they are ready operationally.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Social Enterprises: Investment

lord mawson: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 29 November 2018 (HL11578, HL11579, HL11580, and HL11581), why they have made no assessment across those varied funds.

lord mawson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the level of demand for social investment funds, and (2) the amount those funds supply.

lord ashton of hyde: There are many independent social investment funds across the UK offering a broad range of products and services to civil society and private sector organisations. Social investment funds which operate independently are regulated by the relevant regulatory bodies, and subject to their own due diligence processes. The government has made no assessment of the demand for social investment funds.

Bank Services

lord mawson: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 29 November 2018 (HL11578, HL11579, HL11580, and HL11581), whether it is HM Treasury’s responsibility to monitor the use of funds from dormant bank accounts belonging to members of the public; and if not, whose responsibility it is.

lord mawson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their role in monitoring the effectiveness of systems and processes relating to spending money from dormant bank accounts belonging to members of the public.

lord ashton of hyde: The Big Lottery Fund is named in the Act as the distributor of dormant account money for meeting expenditure that has a social or environmental purpose in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Each devolved administration makes decisions on how these funds are used. In England, all monies so far made available from dormant bank accounts have been allocated to Big Society Capital, the world’s first social investment wholesaler. The Government established Big Society Trust to provide oversight of Big Society Capital and to ensure that this funding is spent effectively. In the devolved administrations, Big Lottery Fund plays this monitoring role.

Betting

baroness thornton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether bookmakers are offering better odds to those who place bets online as opposed to those who place bets in betting shops; and if so, whether this discriminates against those whose disability means that they can only place bets in a shop.

lord ashton of hyde: Businesses, including gambling operators, are able to make commercial decisions with regards to prices offered in different locations and across different platforms and may do so for a variety of reasons, such as differences in cost bases or competition. The Gambling Commission’s focus is on ensuring the prices displayed are clear, transparent and therefore not misleading, thereby allowing a consumer to make an informed decision about whether to bet or not at the terms offered. If anyone believes that they may have been indirectly discriminated against because of a disability in the provision of a service, they may wish to contact the Equality and Advisory Support Service (EASS), which provides free bespoke advice and in-depth support to individuals with any discrimination concerns.